A new and innovative bus service is coming to the East Bay. BRT is shorthand for Bus Rapid Transit. BRT is often called “light rail on wheels” because it brings the frequency, safety and reliability of light rail to the bus rider. BRT will run the 9.5-mile corridor from downtown Oakland to San Leandro BART. Bringing the best of transit experiences from around the globe, BRT will revolutionize public transit in the East Bay.

Frequent and Reliable — A fleet of brand new hybrid-electric buses will arrive at least every 7 minutes during peak times, reducing wait times! Traveling mostly through a bus-only lane will result in improved transit speed. Emergency responders will have access to the bus-only lanes at all times.

Accessible — The bus floor and the station platform are at the same level to ease the boarding experience for people in wheelchairs or with strollers. Median stations will reduce street crossing distance.

Innovative — Transit signal technology helps buses and traffic flow. Clipper Card readers installed on the platforms will quicken the boarding process. Buses are hybrid-electric and low emission. Bicyclists will enjoy new bike lanes along the corridor, bike racks at bus stations and on board bike storage.

Safe — BRT riders and pedestrians along the corridor will enjoy the added feature of improved lighting, a state-of-the-art camera systems, new landscaped medians, sidewalks, high visibility crosswalks and new pavement.

Prior to the start of major construction along the BRT corridor, the following route changes were implemented replacing lines 1/1R that operated along the BRT corridor:

• Line 1 was trimmed to operate between Downtown Oakland and Downtown San Leandro. This route closely mimics the route on which the BRT will operate.
• Line 6 (Downtown Berkeley to Downtown Oakland via Telegraph) has been introduced to cover the northern piece of the old Line 1 that is not covered by BRT.
• Line 10 (San Leandro BART to Hayward BART) has been introduced to cover the southern piece of old Line 1 that is not being covered by BRT (between the San Leandro and Bay Fair BART stations).

Once BRT Is in Operation:

• BRT will run between 20th Street & Broadway in Oakland and the San Leandro BART station, replacing existing Line 1.
• Lines 14 and 47 will be re-routed off International Blvd between High Street and 35th Avenue and instead run along San Leandro Street.
• Local service (currently Line 11) along E. 12th between 5th Ave and 14th Avenues will be shifted onto International Blvd in the northbound direction. Service in the southbound direction will remain along E. 12th Street.
• Line 801 will be trimmed to operate between San Leandro BART and Fremont BART. Due to the 24-hour service that will be offered by BRT, the BRT will cover the eliminated segment of line 801 between Downtown Oakland and San Leandro BART.

Buses will be subject to the same speed limits as posted for existing traffic.

BRT fares will be the same for other local service at the time that BRT revenue operations begin. Most of the cost to build BRT is being paid by government and other funding partners. There is no intention of raising fares on other routes to pay for BRT.

North to South (Oakland to San Leandro):

• The BRT route will begin at the Uptown Station on Broadway and 20th in Oakland;
• The route follows Broadway to 11th Street, turning left on 11th Street going through the 11th Street tunnel (near the Oakland Museum), and proceeding around Lake Merritt to Lake Merritt Boulevard;
• On Lake Merritt Boulevard, the BRT route turns right on East 12th Street for more than 12 blocks and makes a left on 14th Avenue, turning right onto International Boulevard;
• Continuing International Boulevard, the route proceeds into San Leandro, where International Boulevard changes names to E. 14th Street;
• From E. 14th Street, the BRT turns right on Davis Street and makes a left on San Leandro Boulevard to the San Leandro BART station, which is the end of the line.

BRT will have self-service, proof-of-payment fare collection. Upon boarding, passengers must be able to show fare inspectors proof of payment or they will be subject to fine. Passes and Clipper will still be an acceptable form of payment.

The BRT route parallels BART in some locations, as do other bus routes. However, the East Bay BRT Project and BART largely serve very different types of trips. BART has one and a half to two miles or more between stations (outside of downtown business districts). BRT will have stations every one-third to at most one-half miles. Unlike BART, station access will be almost entirely by walking and by transferring from other bus routes. Additionally, all BRT stations are above ground, making them easily accessible.

The Parking Improvement Plan calls for replacing lost parking, either by constructing or funding the construction of new spaces or by converting currently unrestricted spaces to time-restricted spaces. The objective is to ensure at least 15 percent of spaces are unoccupied and continually available for new users during normal business hours. For more parking information, please visit the Parking page of this website by clicking the Construction menu and selecting Parking.

BRT will have 12 curbside stations and 21 center-median stations. For curbside stations, passengers will catch the bus as they do now. For center-median stations, crosswalks will be improved with clear markings, and with active or passive warning signs and signals. An additional benefit to BRT is that median stations will also provide a safe refuge for individuals crossing the street but not able to make the full crossing in the allotted time.

Emergency vehicles will be allowed to use the BRT lanes whenever necessary to avoid traffic delays as they arise. BRT bus operators will be instructed to always yield to emergency vehicles.

To accommodate emergency vehicles, there will not be a barrier between the traffic lane and the bus lanes. Bus and traffic lanes will be separated by either a low mountable curb or a rumble strip that will be placed between the lanes to remind motorists of the division. Only directly before and after BRT stations would there be a need for barriers between traffic lanes and bus lanes. These divisions will help channel traffic safely past a BRT station and protect pedestrians crossing the street at the station or waiting for a bus at the station.

Possibly. For safe and efficient operations, the state-of-the-art BRT buses require a dedicated bus lane in each direction. Therefore, the length of time driving along the BRT route may increase during certain peak times. If your destination takes you along the 9.5-mile BRT route, we encourage you to use BRT between San Leandro and Oakland for faster travel.

Various transportation service types were evaluated for the project route, including light rail. While light rail would have been a suitable service type for this project, it would have cost at least two and probably three or more times the cost of bus rapid transit. Additionally, the construction impact and timeframe would have been greater because of the additional space required for light rail. In addition, light rail would require building of major support facilities, such as a vehicle storage yard and maintenance facility. For the International Boulevard/E14th Street corridor, BRT is the best option because of lower cost, its flexibility, and shorter construction timeframe.